OFAH reacts to MNR plan

The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters is meeting with the Minister of Natural Resources to discuss the proposed 3 year plan for the MNR.  Spokesperson Greg Farrant  says they need to find out what the proposed cuts will mean to them.  Farrant says he wasn't surprised they've been waiting for cuts to be announced for some time. 

Don't lie to border agents

People continue to lie to border guards at the Pigeon River crossing. Border agents have been busy last month writing 10 warnings for undeclared or undervalued goods and conducting four seizures. In one situation, a man bringing in a snowmobile trailer told the guard he paid 400 dollars for it. After doing some digging the guard found that the trailer actually cost 800 dollars and the man had faked his invoice. He was forced to pay over 220 dollars; had he just told the truth the tax on his trailer would have come out to 20 dollars Canadian.

Gravelle talks MNR plan

The Ministry of Natural Resources is embarking on a 3 year transformation plan that could include cuts to offices and staff.  It's part of the Provincial Government's budget and Minister Michael Gravelle says the plan is in it's early stages.  If the budget is passed the plan will be implemented.

Suspicious death in Pikangikum

OPP are investigating a suspcious death in Pikangikum First Nation. A 17 year old boy was reported missing two days ago and his body was found later behind someone's home. A post mortem exam will take place in Toronto.

Accessible Sports Council new site

Thunder Bay's Accessible Sports Council is celebrating it's one year anniversary.  They're launching a website today showing the community what sports they offer to disabled athletes.  Spokesperson Tessa Soderberg says they just want to get people more active and involved in Thunder Bay's sports community.  Click here.

Safeway raising money in April

Thunder Bay's Safeway Stores continue to raise awareness and money for a number of local causes.  This year they'll be collecting funds for Special Olympics Ontario and Easter Seals.  Money being raised will take place in the month of April.

Spithoff out of spelling bee competition

Thunder Bay's Jacklyn Spithoff didn't make it to the next round of spelling bee competitions.  She finished in the top 10 last night in the National Competition being held in Toronto.  Spithoff attends Crestview School.

12 year old safe after wandering out on ice

A 12 year old boy is safe after he was rescued off of Chubb Lake yesterday in Neebing.  A 7 person rescue team and air boat was deployed to grab the boy who was stranded on the far side of the lake.  Fire and Rescue are reminding the public that area water ways are not considered safe and we should not venture out on local ice.

Field Naturalists buy land

The Thunder Bay Field Naturalists are purchasing two more pieces of property on Bowman Island.  The Field Naturalists bought the land and now owns and protects more than a thousand hectares of land.  Bowman Island is set to become a National Marine Conservation Area.

Hobbs likes provincial budget

The Mayor is content with the provincial budget.  Keith Hobbs says he's happy to see the government working towards balancing the budget, but is disappointed about a lack of details for the Ring of Fire.  Hobbs says he'd like to see some infrastructure plans or some sort of documentation but so far he hasn't seen anything.  Hobbs says he thinks with the Conservatives already coming out against the budget he can't see the NDP supporting it either, Hobbs says he won't be surprised if we head back to the polls.

Safety zone proposed as traffic solution

Transport traffic on Dawson Road is once again coming up for discussion.  At Monday night's City Council meeting councillors will be asked to approve a community safety zone on the road and to have a more gradual increase in the speed limit.  Chair of the Inter-Governmental Committee Joe Virdiramo says other ideas like length restrictions or different signage wasn't approved by the Ministry of Transportation so a different approach was needed.

LHIN boss not bothered by pay freeze

No complaints from the CEO of the Local Health Integration Network about the government freezing her salary. The directive was part of the province's budget this week. Laura Kokocinski says she is willing to do what's necessary to help with deficit reduction. According to the latest Sunshine List, Kokocinski was paid just under 250 thousand dollars last year.

Hospital CEO supports wage freeze

The CEO of the Health Sciences Centre is supporting the wage freeze in the Provincial Hospital.  Andree Robichaud says no body likes to see their wage frozen but at the same time is a move the government had to make to reign in rising health care costs.  According to the Sunshine List, Robichaud made 390 thousand dollars last year, but still is eligible for a performance bonus despite the wage freeze. 

Health care bureaucracy changing

Changes are taking place in the health care system in Northwestern Ontario. The North West Local Health Integration is out with a new 10-year plan that will put more of an emphasis on local care. CEO Laura Kokocinski says they are introducing a three tiered system that will include so called local health hubs.  Five new Integrated District Networks are being created to handle health care in Northwestern Ontario; the District of Thunder Bay, the City of Thunder Bay, the North, Kenora and Rainy River.

Lakehead School Board translates website

The Lakehead Public School Board's website is going multilingual.  Aboriginal Liason Officer Amy Farrell says parts of the site are written in Ojibwe.  The project was funded by the School Board's Parent Involvement group.

LUSU fails McGuinty budget

The Lakehead University Student Union says the McGuinty Government's budget failed to help students.  President Mike Snodden says the budget is bad news for students and is including cuts to Ontario Works Study Program and scholarships.  Snodden says Dalton McGuinty likes to call himself the Education Premier but that's not the case.

Pot bust on Highway 17

Marathon OPP have snagged quite a hefty amount of pot.  They pulled over a vehicle travelling westbound on the Trans Canada and seized over 150-thousand dollars worth of marijuana.  A 31 and 23 year old Edmonton man and woman are charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Hyer on cyber crime

Thunder Bay MP Bruce Hyer wants to see the RCMP investigate a case of cyber crime linked to the NDP Leadership election. Officials say more than 10-thousand ``fake'' Internet addresses were used to jam the N-D-P leadership convention's online voting system. The tech company that ran the vote says the attack delayed voting for several hours, and pushed Thomas Mulcair victory as party leader late into Saturday night.

Grassy says no to logging

The Grassy Narrows First Nation says the Province has promised not to allow logging in its Traditional Land Use Area in the Whisky Jack forest while an appeal of a court ruling in going on. Last summer, the Ontario Superior Court ruled the government couldn't take away Grassy's treaty rights by allowing clear cut logging near the community. Since then the Provice has decided to appeal the decision. Grassy says that a no-logging agreement now prohibits any forestry activity in about 50-percent of its traditional land use area.

NAN responds to budget

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation is panning the Provincial Government's budget. Grand Chief Stan Beardy says it does nothing significant for the First Nations people.

Gravelle calls budget responsible

The McGuinty government is getting heat from the Chamber of Commerce because it said so little about the Ring of Fire mining development in the budget.  However MPP Michael Gravelle says the development is not being put on the back burner and continues to be a priority for the McGuinty Government. Gravelle says one highlight of the budget that especially pleases him, is the continuation of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund as a stand alone organization.

Mauro answers budget criticism

Liberal MPP Bill Mauro says even though not much was said about the Ring of Fire in the budget, the government remains committed to the massive mining development. Mauro says issues surrounding the Ring of Fire are getting attention from a variety of ministries.  Mauro is answering criticism from the Chamber of Commerce over how little was mentioned about the Ring of Fire in the budget.  Meantime,  Mauro is confident public sector workers in Thunder Bay will buy into the government's request for a pay freeze to help reduce the deficit.

Chamber Prez puzzled by budget

The president of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce is surprised by the new Ontario Budget.  Harold Wilson says it was expected that the government would postpone corporate tax cuts, but the Liberals threw a curve by vowing to not make any changes until after the deficit is erased.  Wilson is also disappointed that while the Ring of Fire was mentioned, there was no action plan outlined.

Police warn public about debit card scam

You might want check your bank account as soon as possible.  Thunder Bay Police are warning the public about a debit card scam affecting the city.  Officials say a number of people are reporting unauthorized withdrawls from their accounts after using their cards. 

Local women join harassment suit

Three Thunder Bay women are among the 150 current and former female members of the RCMP who are alleging harassment and are part of a class action law suit against the force.  Lawyer Sandy Zaitzeff says their stories are just as "awful and horrendous" as all the stories across Canada.  He says they include Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, broken relationships and depression

Don't expect Syrian situation to calm down

Syria appears to be accepting a UN plan to end the brutal crack down on civilians in the middle eastern country, but according to an LU Political Science Expert it likely won't change much.  Laure Paquette says Bashar Assad wants to squash his opposition and will likely try to see how much he can get away with despite the new resolutions against him.

Sister City Committee gets funding for trip

Our municipal officials are backing the Sister Cities committee.  Council approved 10 thousand dollars in funding to help send a delegation to Gifu Japan.  Chair of the committee Aldo Ruberto says for every dollar the city spends on the program, 18 dollars is returned through things like exchange students living here and private sector investments.

Police constable not guilty

City Police constable Toni Grann's courtroom saga is over. She has been found not guilty in her Breach of Trust trial. Her lawyer Clay Powell says she's relieved.  Grann was acquitted on all 11 charges in connection with falsified records in the Ontario Sex Offender Registry. Meantime Grann still faces Police Act proceedings connection with the incidents and remains on suspension.

City's Urban Forest Plan open house Wednesday

The City's Urban Forest Management Plan will be up for scrutiny Wednesday and Thursday at a series of public open houses.  City Forester Shelley Vescio says it's a way for the public to learn more about their plans for the trees in the City.  Vescio says the management plan also calls for more trees to be planted.  The open house Wednesday is from four until eight at the West Thunder Community Centre.

Lakehead University hosts youth conference

Lakehead University will play host to a youth conference next week.  Spokesperson Emily Lauzon says they hope to make today's generation more socially active.  The deadline to register for the April 5th event is this Friday.

First ship in our harbour this afternoon

MV Tim S. Dool is the first ship to come into the Thunder Bay Harbour.  It kicks off of the local navigation season.  The Kaministiqua and Pineglen are also arriving in the Port today.

Shelter House wants 40-thousand

Shelter House is looking to raise over 40-thousand dollars in their annual raise the rent campaign.  The organization is taking in money today from 30 people who are expected to raise one month's rent in a one bedroom apartment.  Each participant is expected to bring in at least 625 dollars.

Union gas gives cash

Union Gas is helping bring a leadership conference to Thunder Bay.  The company provided 5-thousand dollars to Leadership Thunder Bay Monday.  The two day conference will take place in April and will bring together local youth and area leaders.

Police investigate arson

Thunder Bay Police are investigating another case of arson this morning. This time a fire in the 200 block of east Francis Street broke out just before 5 am this morning. City Fire fighters were on the scene and extinguished a shed which had been totally destroyed. If anyone has any information they are asked to contact Thunder Bay Police or Crime Stoppers.

OPP release info on bodies found in lake

The Ontario Provincial Police have recovered all four bodies from Selkirk Lake, north of Kenora.  OPP say the body of 53-year-old Edward Everson was located Sunday, while the bodies of 43-year-old Dianne Otto and 42-year-old Chris Mainville were found on Saturday.  All of the bodies were located in the water in the same area the body of 55-year-old Robert Kantimere was discovered on Friday.  Police confirm there was a vehicle on the shore, but at this point the OPP say they don't know why the four ended up at the lake and on the ice.

School closures and rural bus routes cancelled

The freezing rain is wreaking havoc with school buses. All rural school bus routes are cancelled. Meanwhile, the Christian Schools in the City are closed for the day as well as several Lakehead Public School board schools. School's closed for today include Crestview, Mckenzie, Five Mile, Nor'Wester View, Gorham and Ware, Valley Central, Kakabka Falls and Whitefish Valley.

Human Rights hearing set for Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay residents interested in human rights enforcement in the Province are being encouraged to attend a meeting in the city next week. A group set up to review the Province's human rights system is holding a hearing next Wednesday at the Victoria Inn. The hearing was originally set for February but was cancelled due to a lack of interest. For more information click here.

Council increases Budget

City Council has approved an increase to the 2012 budget.  Councillor Andrew Foulds brought forward an amendment to the budget to include about 84 thousand dollars to fund 4 not for profit organizations.  Foulds says the funding will help protect some of Thunder Bay's most vulnerable citizens.  Council decided to vote on each of the organizations seperately but passed each one. 

City approves Waterfront Land Transfer deal

The City is ready to close the land transfer deal for Prince Arthur's Landing. At Monday's Council meeting our Municipal representatives were advised that the developer has approved the final document implementing the land sale. The next step is for both sides to fulfill their obligations of the agreement. Officials say information on when the actually signing will take place will come in early April.

City Council looks at its investments

Our elected officials got a look at the city's investments at Monday night's meeting.  Currently the city has around 97 million dollars invested mostly in Government Bonds.  After a small amount of debate council decided to shift a small amount of investments from cash assets to the Equity One Fund.  Councillor Paul Pugh voted against the increase in equity investment because he felt it was smarter to keep that money in less volatile types of investments. 

Three ships heading here

There are three ships vying to become the first vessel in the harbour for this shipping season in the Port of Thunder Bay. Harbour Master GuyJarvis says they are all due before 6 a.m Tuesday morning. The captain of the first ship in will be given the ceremonial top hat in the afternoon.

Card could fetch 1.5 M

A million dollars is a lot to pay for a baseball card, but Thunder Bay collector Frank Wenzell says it's worth that and more. The 1909 Honus Wagner is considered one of the most sought after sports collectibles in the world, so Wenzell says now that it's up for auction, anything can happen.  There's talk the card could even go for a million and a half dollars and Wenzell agrees.

Police target River Terrace Park

Thunder Bay Police are cracking down on partying at River Terrace Park.  Officers dealt with about 50 youth in the area of the park over the weekend and seized a large amount of alcohol from minors and also charged 2 people with drug offenses.  The park has a reputation as a party location for many youth in the area.

Hobbs to Bradley: Don't leave us holding the bag

Thunder Bay's mayor is hoping a proposed new law designed to protect the Great Lakes will not be a financial burden to the city. Keith Hobbs says past experience has shown the city has been left holding the bag on some initiatives.  As an example he says the city didn't get "a whole lot of money from the province" for our new the waste water and water treatment plants.  Hobbs' comments follow a meeting in the city with Ontario Environment Minister Jim Bradley on the proposed Great Lakes Protection Act.

Bradley seeks local input on bill

Ontario's Environment Minister is travelling the province getting input on his proposed legislation he says is designed to protect the Great Lakes. Jim Bradley has just completed meetings in Thunder Bay with area mayors. He says on some of the issues there is a northern "slant" but says for the most part our leaders have the same concerns they do in southern Ontario. Bradley hopes to have the bill introduced in the legislature by the summer.

Transit fare going up

It's going to cost more to ride the bus as of this weekend.   Starting Sunday Thunder Bay Transit is increasing the adult cash fare by ten cents to two dollars and sixty cents.   Spokesperson Jon Handel says the increase is needed to keep up with the cost of inflation.   The last time transit fares were increased was back in 2009.

Community learns to heal

Community leaders are meeting today to talk about how the community can heal relationships when harm is done.  Spokesperson Sheena Albanese says it could be used in a variety of settings such as the legal and school systems.  The one day conference will also look at ways of keeping students connected to the school system.

Garage fire on west Mary Street

Thunder Bay's Fire Department is still looking into the cause of a garage fire on the City's south side over the weekend. Crews responded to the blaze on west Mary Street Saturday morning. The garage was completely destroyed. A fire spokesperson says they're treating the fire as an accident not arson. The investigation is continuing today.

First Nations evacuated

About 300 residents of two First Nations were evacuated Sunday after their communities declared states of emergency.  Ice breakup on a nearby river is causing ice jams and flooding in the First Nations of Kashechewan and Fort Albany on the James Bay coast.  A spokesman with Ontario's Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services says the evacuated residents were taken to Kapuskasing and Wawa.

Shannon heads N.S. Human Rights Commision

A Thunder Bay lawyer is now the head of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.  Dave Shannon was recently appointed as the organization's CEO.  Shannon who has been a quadriplegic since he was 18 will work towards making that Province more accessible for all residents.

Police investigating robbery

Thunder Bay Police are looking for two men they suspect in a robbery over the weekend.  A 26 year old woman on Nelson Street was jumped from behind, knocked to the ground and had her purse stolen.
The suspects are described as wearing hoodies and being 5'5 to 6 feet tall.  The woman was taken to Thunder Bay regional with non life threatening injuries.